Job 40:24 kjv
He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares.
Job 40:24 nkjv
Though he takes it in his eyes, Or one pierces his nose with a snare.
Job 40:24 niv
Can anyone capture it by the eyes, or trap it and pierce its nose?
Job 40:24 esv
Can one take him by his eyes, or pierce his nose with a snare?
Job 40:24 nlt
No one can catch it off guard
or put a ring in its nose and lead it away.
Job 40 24 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Job 38:4-5 | “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth...?” | God's challenge of Job's limited understanding. |
| Job 40:15-18 | “Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you... its bones are tubes of bronze...” | Description of Behemoth's immense power. |
| Job 41:1-2 | “Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down its tongue with a rope?” | Parallel rhetorical question about another untamable beast. |
| Job 9:4 | "God is wise in heart and mighty in strength; who has resisted Him successfully?" | Emphasizes God's irresistible power. |
| Job 9:19 | “If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty! And if of justice, who can bring Him to trial?” | Further highlights God's unchallengeable might. |
| Job 42:2 | “I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.” | Job's ultimate acknowledgment of God's sovereignty. |
| Ps 24:1 | “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” | God's supreme ownership and control. |
| Ps 29:10 | “The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever.” | God's kingship and power over chaotic forces. |
| Ps 104:24-30 | “How many are your works, Lord! ... These all look to You to give them their food at the proper time.” | God's sustaining power over all creation. |
| Isa 2:22 | “Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils. Of what account are they?” | Man's weakness contrasted with God. |
| Isa 40:15 | “Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales.” | Highlights human insignificance before God. |
| Isa 40:26 | “Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one.” | Points to God as the Creator and Controller of immense forces. |
| Isa 45:9 | “Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth!” | Warning against contending with God. |
| Jer 10:12 | “But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.” | Attributes all creation and its control to God's wisdom and power. |
| Jer 10:23 | “Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.” | Reinforces man's lack of control over even his own path, much less a Behemoth. |
| Gen 1:28 | “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea...’” | Man given dominion, but with limits and under God's ultimate authority. |
| Jas 3:7-8 | “All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue.” | Highlights general human ability to tame some animals, but contrasts with man's inability to control the tongue, further emphasizing the impossibility of Behemoth. |
| Col 1:16-17 | “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible... all things have been created through him and for him.” | Jesus as the Creator, through whom all things are sustained. |
Job 40 verses
Job 40 24 Meaning
Job 40:24 is a rhetorical question posed by God to Job, challenging man's ability to subdue or capture the Behemoth. It underscores the Behemoth's immense power and untamable nature, contrasting it with human frailty. The verse asks if a person can capture such a creature by seizing its eyes or piercing its nose with a snare, implicitly asserting the impossibility of such a feat for humans. This rhetorical device serves to demonstrate God's unparalleled sovereignty and omnipotence over all creation, even over the most powerful and untamable beasts, thereby humbling Job and illustrating the vast difference between God's might and human limitations.
Job 40 24 Context
Job 40:24 is part of God’s second discourse to Job, beginning in Job 38. After Job and his friends debate about the cause of suffering and divine justice, God intervenes to put Job's questioning and self-righteousness into perspective. God challenges Job by revealing His boundless wisdom, power, and sovereignty over creation, elements that are far beyond human comprehension or control. Chapters 40 and 41 focus on God's masterful descriptions of two awe-inspiring creatures: Behemoth and Leviathan. These creatures symbolize the might and mystery of God's creation. The verse specifically about Behemoth is posed after God details its colossal size, immense strength, and natural habitat. The core purpose of describing Behemoth is not zoological classification, but rather to highlight a creature that no human can tame, capture, or control. This serves as a powerful illustration that if Job cannot contend with such a creation, how can he possibly contend with or comprehend the Creator Himself? The rhetorical question points directly to human weakness and insignificance when compared to divine power.
Job 40 24 Word analysis
- Can any: This opening phrase sets up a direct challenge to humanity. It implies a sweeping rhetorical question, expecting a resounding "no" as the answer, asserting the universal inability of human beings. It questions if anyone at all, regardless of their skill or strength, could accomplish this.
- take him: The Hebrew verb `לָקַח` (lāqaḥ), meaning "to take, seize, grasp, capture." Here, it specifically refers to seizing control over the powerful Behemoth, implying an attempt to capture it or bring it under human mastery, rather than just merely touching it.
- by his eyes: The Hebrew phrase `בְּעֵינָיו` (bəʿêynāyw), composed of `בְּ` (bə-, "in, by") and `עֵינָיו` (ʿêynāw, "his eyes"). This suggests an attempt to attack or capture Behemoth at a vulnerable point or in a direct, confronting manner, as if trying to blind or incapacitate it to gain control. It might refer to seizing it physically by its eyes, a highly difficult and dangerous act, emphasizing the futility of even direct confrontation.
- or pierce through: The Hebrew `בַּקּוֹבֵחַ` (baqqōwḇēaḥ), derived from `קוֹבֵחַ` (qōwḇēaḥ), meaning "one who bores or pierces," or an implement used for such a purpose, often a hook. This implies using a tool to physically penetrate or bore into the animal, suggesting an attempt to put a hook or ring for subjugation, a common method for taming large beasts in ancient times (like cattle or camels with nose-rings).
- his nose: The Hebrew `בְּאַפּוֹ` (bəʾappōw), consisting of `בְּ` (bə-, "in, by") and `אַפּוֹ` (ʾappōw, "his nose"). The nose, particularly in large animals, was a common point for inserting rings or hooks to lead, control, or subjugate them (e.g., Ex 30:35, Isa 37:29, Ezek 29:4). This highlights the intended method of capture – one of conventional subjugation that would utterly fail for Behemoth.
- with a snare?: The Hebrew `מוֹקֵשׁ` (mōqēš), primarily meaning "snare, trap, noose, bait." In this context, it refers to an instrument used for binding, securing, or controlling, such as a rope, cord, or noose. The rhetorical question asks if one could successfully use such an implement via the nose to subdue Behemoth.
- Words-group Analysis:
- "Can any take him by his eyes, or pierce through his nose with a snare?": This entire clause functions as a powerful rhetorical question. It directly challenges the limits of human capability and control over even one of God's most impressive creatures. By presenting two distinct, yet equally impossible, methods of capture—a direct confrontational seizure of the eyes or a common subjugation technique via the nose with a snare—the verse underscores Behemoth's untamable nature. The impossibility of controlling Behemoth highlights the greater impossibility for humanity to control or question the omnipotent God who created and sustains such creatures. The implied "No!" humbles Job and any human who would dare to challenge God's ways.
Job 40 24 Bonus section
The description of Behemoth in Job 40 and Leviathan in Job 41, though often debated zoologically (hippopotamus, elephant, or symbolic creature), consistently highlights their sheer untamable power. This is crucial for understanding the biblical point: whether literal creatures of astounding size or symbolic representations of chaos God holds in check, their untamable nature by man magnifies God's complete and unquestionable sovereignty over all forms of power and might. These creatures embody aspects of God's majestic power, illustrating that He has absolute dominion even over forces that are utterly beyond human capacity to control. This challenges any human notion of self-sufficiency or wisdom apart from God. The unmanageable nature of Behemoth serves as a tangible, though metaphorical, demonstration of why Job, and indeed all humanity, cannot fully grasp God’s justice or challenge His ways.
Job 40 24 Commentary
Job 40:24 functions as the culmination of God’s description of Behemoth, driving home the creature’s insurmountable strength and independence from human dominion. The rhetorical questions, "Can any take him by his eyes, or pierce through his nose with a snare?" emphatically assert that no human possesses the power or skill to subdue Behemoth by any known means of capture or control. Attempts to seize it directly through a sensitive area like the eyes, or to employ the common ancient method of inserting a ring or hook into its nose for guidance, are presented as utterly futile. This serves not just to exalt Behemoth, but more importantly, to elevate God who created such an untamable being. If humanity cannot master this creature, how can it ever comprehend, question, or contend with the Almighty Creator? The verse thus re-establishes divine sovereignty, wisdom, and omnipotence, humbling Job and reinforcing the call for awe and submission before the unsearchable depths of God's power over His entire creation. It emphasizes that ultimate control rests solely with God, not man.